Punish students who flout the law at school, says Holness
Published:Sunday | January 26, 2014 | 12:00 AM
ARGUING THAT approximately 90 per cent of legal breaches in schools are not reported to the police, Opposition Leader Andrew Holness says a framework should be put in place to ensure that students who flout the law on school grounds are punished.
In calling for Parliament to lead a "profound and fundamental" change in the way school rules are administered, Holness, a former education minister, said it was time to establish schools as 'zero-tolerance areas for ... and antisocial behaviours'.
"It should be a requirement that once you detect an offensive weapon in the schools it is reported," Holness said.
He told parliamentarians it was very challenging for schools to administer their rules 'because the school rules are not treated as if they were the laws of the land'.
Holness' comments followed the tabling of a ministry paper and Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) survey by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, which linked criminal behaviour to some of the country's poorly performing high schools and broken homes.
The study found that the typical inmate was likely to have dropped out of high school before reaching grade 11 without attaining any certification, and was likely to have stopped attending school because of financial difficulties.
FIRST ARREST
The typical inmate, the study states, is likely to have had his first arrest before reaching age 24, and is often charged with firearm-related offences.
"We have to establish that what is illegal in the society is also illegal in the schools. If you want to make an impact on the educational system and its impact on the society, then you need to establish clearly that schools have rules and breaking those rules have consequences, and that schools don't have lower laws than in the society," Holness said.
He said the JCF study confirmed "what we have all suspected, that our educational system, as it is now, contributes to crime in the society and it is good that we have data to use in the analysis of the problem".